


Where faded memories shine brightest

by From_Dusk_to_Dawn



Category: Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Disgusting levels of fluff, F/F, Fluff, SO MUCH FLUFF, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-22
Updated: 2015-07-22
Packaged: 2018-04-10 14:42:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,659
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4395842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/From_Dusk_to_Dawn/pseuds/From_Dusk_to_Dawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Laura dragged Carmilla home, Carmilla expected a lot of things.  What she hadn’t expected was how insistent Laura was going to be on doing things that were not making out alone in her room.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where faded memories shine brightest

**Author's Note:**

> HERE HAVE SOME GRATUITOUS FLUFF AFTER 2x15.

 

When Laura dragged Carmilla home, Carmilla expected a lot of things.  She’d expected the town to be tiny (it was; there were only a few main roads running through it).  She’s expected Laura’s dad to be intimidating (he was; he probably had 150 pounds on her and vampire or not, she wasn’t fond of those odds).  She’d expected Laura’s room to be predictably Laura (it _definitely_ was; the room was covered in more movie and pop culture memorabilia than Carmilla could follow).

 

What she hadn’t expected was how insistent Laura was going to be on doing things that were not _making out alone in her room_.

 

Carmilla had come quietly when they went walking through the park. She’d smiled a little when Laura had requested they go hang out by the old playground.  She’d even (eventually) given in when Laura had dragged them to the local mall to go window shopping.

 

But Carmilla could not fathom why Laura was so _insistent_ on going to the local drive-in.

 

“Laura there’s literally no reason to go.  You have a tv at home.  The movie theater plays newer movies.  All you get by going to a drive-in is shittier speaker quality.”

 

“But it’ll be romantic!  Movie night under the stars.  You like the stars, right?”

 

Carmilla was unimpressed.

 

“Won’t be able to see them from inside the car anyway.  We’ll just have the extra added fun of mosquitoes buzzing around us.”

 

“Carmmm…”

 

“No.”

 

She’d turned away at that point, assuming the discussion was over.

 

She’d heard a faint rustling and a soft _thump_ over by the desk.  Carmilla frowned.  Why was Laura so worked up over this?

 

She breathed out heavily through her nose and turned to face Laura, still collapsed over her desk.

 

“Ok Laura.  Out with it.  Why is this such a big deal?”

 

Laura mumbled something into her arms which even Carmilla’s advanced hearing couldn’t catch.

 

Carmilla sighed and walked over to the desk.  She tapped Laura on the shoulder.

 

It took a moment, but Laura eventually lifted her head.

 

Carmilla bit her lip.  Laura did genuinely look upset over this.

 

She held out her hand for Laura to take and then slowly guided them back to the bed.

 

She sat down on it and gave Laura’s hand a light tug to signal to her to do the same.

 

Laura came willingly, folding herself into Carmilla’s side.

 

Carmilla wrapped her arms around her girlfriend and pressed a kiss to her hair.

 

“Ok.  Let’s try this again.  What’s bothering you?”

 

Laura was quiet for a moment.

 

“It’s stupid.”

 

“Tell me anyway.  I like listening to you talk.”

 

Laura looked up, a small smile forming on her face.

 

“Yeah right.  You hate my rants.”

 

Carmilla smirked back at her.

 

“If I actually hated listening to you, we wouldn’t be dating.  You’re always talking.”

 

Laura laughed a little at that and snuggled closer into her side.  

 

“Carm…” she began, “you know this is a super small town.”

 

Carmilla snorted.

 

“Yes I’m painfully aware.”

 

Laura shot her a playful glare and Carmilla quieted.

 

“Yeah well.  I came out at the beginning of high school.  And like, it’s not like anyone was mean or anything about it.  People were pretty good about it.  But I was one of 3 lesbians at my high school.  And the other two were already dating each other when I came out.”

 

“Okay…?”

 

Laura breathed out heavily.

 

“So I never got to do any of that teenage couple stuff that everyone else did. I never got to make out at a drive-in.  Or hold hands in the hallways.  Or go to prom with my crush.  And like, I went with friends and we had a good time, but it’s not exactly the same, right?  And now you’re here and I don’t know.  I just wanted…”  She bit her lip.  “Sorry.  It’s stupid.  We can just stay in.”

 

Carmilla shifted a little so that when Laura glanced up Carmilla was right in front of her face.

 

Carmilla smiled softly and then leaned in to capture Laura’s lips.

 

“Ok we can go.”

 

“No, no.  It’s okay.  I was just being stupid.  We don’t have to.  I didn’t mean to force you.  Sorr--”

 

Carmilla swooped in again and kissed her soundly.

 

“Ok you really can’t just kiss me everytime you want me to shut up--”

 

Carmilla kissed her again, laughing slightly as she pulled away.

 

Laura pouted at her and opened her mouth to speak again.

 

“Laura.”

 

Laura shut her mouth.

 

“You don’t have to apologize for the way you feel.  I know I’m crap with the whole feelings thing, but I want to do this.  Because I never got to do the cheesy high school romance thing either.  And I guess if I wanted to do it with anyone, I’d want it to be with you.  Okay?”

 

Laura was silent for a moment, before a smile spread across her face.

 

“Okay” she breathed.  And then she launched herself at her girlfriend.

 

They kissed heatedly for a few moments before Carmilla pulled away, still smiling.

 

“Come on.  It’s nearing sunset so we need to get going if we want to make that movie.”

 

Laura beamed at her and leaned in for another quick kiss.

 

“Best girlfriend ever.”

 

Carmilla smiled at her.

 

“Yeah and don’t you forget it.”

 

_______

 

They parked the car Laura had borrowed from her dad near the back of the small grassy lawn of the drive-in.

 

Carmilla had smiled indulgently when Laura dragged her to the concession stand in the back, rubbing her thumb in small circles over Laura’s hand.

 

Laura was practically bouncing on her toes as they waited in line.  Carmilla stepped up right behind her, wrapping her arms around her and laying soft kisses along her neck.

 

Laura huffed a little, but tilted her neck to give Carmilla better access.

 

“Carmm…” Laura whined softly.

 

“Relax.  We’ll keep it PG-13 so you don’t get kicked out before you’ve had a chance to watch the movie.”  Carmilla mumbled into her neck.

 

Laura smiled and turned to give Carmilla a soft kiss.

 

They broke apart when they heard a throat clear.

 

A very unimpressed concession worker stood in front of them.

 

“Laura, I get that you’ve picked up a hot girlfriend at college so like, congrats on that.  But could you keep it to somewhere where I’m not likely to gag on my gum?”

 

Laura turned bright red while Carmilla snickered behind her.

 

“Umm… sorry Jen.  I ah… can we get combo number one?  With a large grape soda and… I guess a bag of M&Ms?”

 

Jen raised an eyebrow at her.

 

“What?  No Laura Hollis special?  Trying to impress your girlfriend or something?”

 

Laura’s cheeks got redder.  “Jen!” she hissed.  Carmilla perked up.

 

“What’s the Laura Hollis special?”

 

“Jen don’t you dare--”

 

“It’s one of each of every candy we sell.”

 

“Oh come on!”

 

Carmilla merely laughed.

 

“I mean, I saw the way you ate all last semester.  Your eating habits aren’t exactly a surprise to me.  Order whatever you want Laura.”  

 

Laura slumped a little, but mumbled, “ok and also one Laura Hollis special.”

 

Carmilla grinned, wrapping her arms tighter around the girl and giving her an affectionate kiss on the cheek.

 

“There’s my little sugar demon.”

 

Laura gave her a half-hearted swat with her hand, before reaching into her pocket for some cash.

 

Carmilla was quicker, slapping down a $50 bill and saying, “keep the change,” before handing Laura the drink and sweeping everything else into her arms to take back to the car.

 

Laura gave Jen a sheepish look before turning to follow her girlfriend.

 

“You didn’t have to pay you know,” she said as she caught up.

 

Carmilla merely scoffed at her.

 

“What kind of terrible date would I be if I let you pay?”

 

“I’m pretty sure I asked you out.  So I should pay.”

 

“And I let you pay our entrance fee.  So it’s my turn.”

 

“That fee was only $10!”

 

Carmilla shrugged.

 

“Should’ve thought of that earlier if you wanted to pay so badly.”

 

Carmilla ducked into the car and started laying food out on the dashboard.  Laura merely looked at her for another moment, before muttering, “stubborn vampire.”  But she couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face.

 

_______

 

They sat in relative silence as they munched on food, with Carmilla intermittently interjecting to insert a snarky comment or two.

 

By the time the movie had gone halfway, they had polished off most of the snacks.  Laura took advantage of their relatively freer hands to grab Carmilla’s.

 

Carmilla responded by tugging her in for a kiss.  The kiss rapidly turned heated and Laura broke away with a ragged gasp.

 

“Carm--what about the movie?”

 

Carmilla smirked at her.

 

“Don’t tell me you thought the teenage experience at drive-ins wasn’t just making out with your significant other.”

 

Laura groaned, but Carmilla was already reaching for her, fusing their mouths together again.

 

Laura moaned and Carmilla took the opportunity to lick her way into Laura’s mouth, tongue stroking Laura’s.

 

She pulled back abruptly with a grunt.

 

“Goddamn console.”

 

And then she was smoothly shifting, one leg swinging over Laura in a fluid motion, the other straddling her in place.

 

Laura looked up at her with a slightly dazed expression and Carmilla gave her a haughty grin.

 

“Hey.”

 

“Hey” came Laura’s response, but it was obvious her brain wasn’t really processing words.  Laura swallowed hard before Carmilla’s hands were tangling in her hair and she was reaching up to pull Carmilla down to her.

 

Carmilla ground down, hips shifting, moaning into Laura’s ear.

 

They stayed like that a moment before Laura’s hands began to wander, shifting under Carmilla’s shirt and lightly skimming the skin there.

 

Carmilla arched into her touch, moaning louder.

 

A sharp knock startled them both, before they turned in tandem to the window.

 

Jen was standing there, a very annoyed look on her face.

 

“Guys my boss is asking you to leave.”

 

Laura spluttered, hands immediately retracting from Carmilla and attempting to shove her off.  Carmilla didn’t budge.

 

“We didn’t--”

 

“You idiots didn’t remember to roll your windows all the way up.  I think you traumatized that family over there.”

 

Laura groaned, burying her face in her hands.

 

Carmilla huffed, but hopped back over into the passenger seat.

 

“Fine.  The steering wheel was cutting into my back anyway.”

 

Laura mumbled something, but dutifully started the car and backed up to leave.

 

Once they were back on the open road and Laura ‘s face had faded from fire engine red to pleasantly pink, she groaned again.

 

“I can’t believe we were kicked out of the drive-in.”

 

Her hands were gripping the wheel tightly, and her posture was rigid.

 

Carmilla laughed beside her.

 

“Well you’re the one who wanted the full teenage experience.  Getting kicked out is definitely par for the course.”

 

Laura threw her a half-hearted glare before eventually giving in to laughter.

 

________

 

They’d been driving a few minutes when Carmilla stopped her out of the blue and said, “pull over here.”

 

“...why?”

 

“Just do it.”

 

Laura pulled over and parked, throwing Carmilla a questioning glance.  

 

Carmilla hopped out of the car and went around the other side to yank open Laura’s door.  She held out her hand for Laura to take.  Laura gave her a perplexed look, but took her hand anyway and got out.

 

Carmilla shot her a mischievous grin and pulled her into the wooded area in front of them.

 

“Carm where are we going?”

 

“You’ll see” came the cryptic response.

 

It wasn’t until they were through the woods that Laura noticed they were in the parking lot of the high school.

 

“How did you know that was here?”

 

“I’ve got a great sense of direction,” Carmilla shrugged.  “Now come on.”

 

Carmilla tugged her to the back entrance.  All the lights were off.  

 

Laura gave her a skeptical look before Carmilla reached over to Laura’s hair and pulled out a bobby pin.

 

“Hey!”

 

Carmilla smirked at her and leaned down to the lock on the door, popping it open in one try.

 

Laura gaped at her.

 

“That actually works?”

 

Carmilla shrugged.

 

“Only on really old locks.  And you have to know what you’re doing.  Come on.”

 

Carmilla dragged her inside.

 

“Carm no!  This is breaking and entering!  We’re going to get arrested!”

 

“Relax.  No one’s going to know.”

 

“Carm!”

 

“Where was your locker?”

 

“Um...what?”

 

“Where was your locker?”  

 

“It...um… right over there actually.  Why?”

 

Carmilla pulled her over and then propped an arm above her head, leaning down to look at Laura.

 

“Hey babe.”

 

“Carm what?”

 

“Can I walk you to your next class?”

 

Laura blushed as she realized what was happening.

 

“Yeah.  That--that’d be great.”

 

Carmilla smirked at her.

 

“Lead the way.”

 

Laura bit her lip and intertwined their hands, lacing her fingers with Carmilla’s.

 

Together they ambled down the hallway before stopping at what used to be Laura’s old English room.  She peeked inside and was surprised to see how similar it looked.  Then again, she mused, it had only been a year.

 

“This is me.” She said, looking up at Carmilla.

 

“Ok.  I’ll catch you later then?”

 

Laura smiled.  “Definitely.”  She leaned up to give Carmilla an affectionate kiss.  Carmilla was smiling when she broke away.

 

“Ok.  I have to get to class.”  Carmilla leaned down to steal one more kiss before pulling away and sending her a backwards wave as she turned the corner.

 

Laura watched her go, her heart feeling full of something.  

 

After a moment or two, Carmilla came back.

 

The two of them grinned at each other.  

 

“How was that?” Carmilla asked.

 

“Perfect.”  Laura was smiling so wide she felt like her face could crack open.

 

Carmilla returned her grin for a moment before grabbing her hand again.

 

“Ok.  One more.  Where’s your gym?”

 

Laura furrowed her brow.  “Um over this way.  Why?”

 

Carmilla tapped her lightly on the nose.

 

“You should know by now that that’s not how this works.”

 

They walked hand in hand to the gym where Carmilla stayed by the light switch, fiddling with it until the lights were on low.  She then dragged Laura to the center of the gym.

 

“Close your eyes.”

 

“What for?”

 

“Just do it Hollis.”

 

Laura gave a faux-sigh of irritation before letting her eyes slide shut.

 

Moments later a soft song began to play.

 

“Okay,” Carmilla’s voice was low, practically purring in her ear.  “Now picture this.  You’ve spent all day getting ready.  I pick you up wearing a three piece suit in a car I’ve rented for the evening.  When we arrive, all eyes are on us because you are the most beautiful thing they’ve ever seen, but they can’t have you.  You’re already mine.  The gym is covered in some really cheesy theme like ‘Night Under the Stars,’ but it doesn’t matter because we’re only paying attention to each other.”

 

Laura was breathing softly, relaxing into Carmilla’s touch.

 

“Can I have this dance?”  Carmilla’s voice was a low husk in her ear.

 

“Yes,” Laura breathed out.  And then Carmilla stepped closer into her personal space, pulling her close.  

 

They stayed like that, swaying to the music, eyes shut and smiling until the song changed.

 

Laura opened her eyes.

 

That feeling from before was stronger, threatening to burst out of her chest.  After everything they’d been through, this was everything she could’ve wished for any more.

 

“Carm?”

 

Carmilla hummed in response.

 

“I love you.”

 

Carmilla’s eyes flickered open, emotion shimmering beneath the surface.

 

“Yeah?”  Her voice was a ragged with emotion.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Laura smiled and Carmilla tugged her closer.  Laura wrapped her arms around Carmilla, and laid her head on Carmilla’s shoulder, nuzzling in to her neck, breathing her in.  Carmilla dropped a quick kiss to her head before settling her chin on top of Laura’s head.

  
The two of them stayed that way, swaying together in an empty gymnasium, smiling softly under flickering lights.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I dashed this off quickly tonight because I needed fluff ASAP. Sorry about any mistakes/quality issues. I know, I know. This is actually gross. I did call it gratuitous fluff.  
> I am marginally ashamed.  
> Come say hi on tumblr: http://from-dusk-todawn.tumblr.com/


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